16-year-old Ananya Kamboj is set on a mission to empower women through sports. She has been actively participating in the campaign “Football for Friendship” which seeks to promote understanding teamwork and companionship.
Unlike most common kids, the eighth-grader wrote an essay for “Mission XI Million” which talks about creating camaraderie and fostering friendship.
Her essay was judged by a panel of experts and deemed to be the best after which she managed to enter the F4F initiative. It works to promote 9 universal human values some of which are health, equality, devotion, tradition and fairness, etc.
Anaya says that the opportunity came unannounced and it was by pure coincidence. She added that she came across the poster by chance and at the back of her mind had a story about how a healthy match between the USA and Iran turned them into allies and build brother ties between them.
Her story garnered her immense appreciation after which she was offered to work as a young journalist writing articles on football matches along with other kids from different parts of the world. Being a huge Lionel Messi fan, she said, “The overall experience was fantastic.”
Using her voice on social media, she tweeted, “Sports is one of the few spaces where people can learn about different cultures in a spirit of trust.” Her passion for the game speaks volumes and shows through her dreams, goals and aims.
The teenager also wrote and published her first book called “My Journey from Mohali to St. Petersburg” which was launched at the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup and consists of 21 experiences from her visit to Russia.
Explained her work Kamboj said that it also contains things about political relations and how football aided in creating peace between various countries.
Anaya feels very strongly about her views and beliefs and commented that she feels women in her country don’t get the same opportunities as men do.
She wants to make an effort and give them the chance to improve living standards in order to lead a quality life. She also hopes to eliminate gender discrimination issues and make sure that everyone gets to have a secure future for themselves.